Posts by slyfox43

Morgan Morales4 said:It seems "Putinophile" is just the label thrown at anyone who dares to step outside the mainstream media narrative for even a second.
Germany knows exactly what they're doing; the issue is that certain people, like in Poland, expect them to act differently. Meanwhile, the media keeps attacking Viktor Orbán because he won't solve the crisis by forcing Canadian standards onto everyone else. I'm talking about the reality of potentially seeing up to 8 million new residents entering the European Union.

Are you suggesting those 8 million refugees you mentioned are a direct result of sanctions?

Just asking for a close friend of mine.

Richard Wilson4 said:The 90s were also defined by things like Abkhazia, Ossetia, and keeping up support for Transnistria.

In Abkhazia, Russians helped carry out ethnic cleansing against Georgians.

That’s precisely my point—back then, imperialists were already operating within whatever frameworks they felt gave them leverage, even when there was absolutely no budget left for basic social necessities.

Fuck 'em.

Lisa Jackson7 said:Even if that packaging was thin, it could have made a huge difference... but they weren't given the chance. Now everyone just nods along like, "Oh, totalitarianism is just in their blood," and acts like there's nothing to be done. To me, that just feels like pure hypocrisy and turning a blind eye.

Shouldn't we be looking into where all that Russian capital from the 90s actually went? The CIA helped pull that money out, and honestly, they were pretty damn good at investing it.
The Russian reformist PM Yegor Gaidar warned everyone about this right from the jump, but he was totally ignored.
So, who's really to blame here?

It was the CIA, which, as we can see, maintained the actual levers of power the entire time. That is true continuity of power. One has to wonder why Gaidar didn't clear that mess up himself if he truly had the agency to do so. (He didn't.)

Then again, if there was a collection of "accessories to the crime" in the West, there certainly was; and I think you know my long-term stance on them. What is unfolding right now presents a genuine opportunity to purge and reform Western institutions, and I won't mourn if that window closes without being used (much like how you won't mourn the missed opportunity you believe existed for integrating and reforming Russia.)

If—and that is a massive if—they ever manage to pivot their entire identity from "us versus the world" to "we are just one part of the world," accepting that they aren't inherently special or entitled to unique geopolitical favors, then they won't have to beg for an invitation back to the table.

Back in the '90s, we didn't see that happening. There was a movement, sure, but it was really just a thin veneer wrapped around the same old imperialistic Russia we've always known.

Brenda Murphy3 said:The thing is, what you're saying doesn't even connect logically.

Just because Germans supported Hitler at one specific point in history doesn't mean it's baked into their entire national psyche like you're making it out to be.

Germany didn't essentially "need" a total overhaul in the way you're implying after WWII. They were already one of the most developed nations before all that. Same goes for Japan.

Supporting certain individuals during a specific historical moment is a completely different beast... even if it feels related on the surface.

I suspect you're significantly overstating how much these psychological differences impact core issues, which mostly boil down to national myths regarding being the center of the universe, exceptionalism, and a nation's perceived "greatness" compared to the rest of the world.

That mindset had to be thoroughly purged from the German consciousness, and it's something Russia will eventually have to face as well. Until that happens, prosperity is merely a precursor to militarization, and aggressive wars become a matter of capacity rather than desire.

However, given Russia's sheer geographic scale and its nuclear arsenal, no sane actor would attempt to force such things upon them from the outside; any such effort would be doomed to fail. There simply isn't a power capable of it.

Melissa Bailey5 said:Russian tank plant reportedly shut down, according to Ukrainian intel

So, apparently Ukrainian military intelligence is saying that this factory out in the Chelyabinsk region—the one responsible for building and fixing up Russian tanks—has basically ground to a halt because they can't get their hands on imported parts anymore.

I guess we'll see who actually has the guts to tell Putin 😁

It’s a bit like asking American farmers to just park their tractors and call it a day, isn't it?

Gerald Chavez7 said:There’s a chart showing gas imports from Russia over the last three years—pretty sure I saw it on Bloomberg—that’s been circulating all over econ-Twitter. It shows imports being cut in half back in 2021, well before any new sanctions were ever slapped on. It was clearly preparation for what hit in February.

Whatever. We'll just keep paying Russia through this winter, fill up the storage, and then we can almost make it through 2022/23 without Russian gasif it comes to that.

It’s also common knowledge that while ExxonMobil-like storage facilities were sitting empty, others remained at standard levels. Those assets should be seized from them—with compensation, of course—because we simply cannot allow strategic energy reserves to be held by foreign powers, especially not those.

China's objectives are simply China's objectives.

The article fails to grasp that even the world's largest oil producer can't change that reality, but please, keep going, you desperate soul. 🤣

Hannah Williams8 said:That's just plain nonsense 😁
. You seem to be missing the actual economic fundamentals here.

There is always some self-proclaimed "expert" stepping up to provide a polished explanation for what someone else merely dreamt up.

Tens of thousands of other voices are simply swept under the rug, because we can't have anything interfering with the grand mission of intellectual lobotomy.

Jerry Clark72 said:I'm not "admitting" anything—it's just the plain truth.

It’s clearly all setup for war. Honestly, I thought they were just turning up the heat over Nord Stream 2.

Look, you have a whole crowd of people who spent their time waving flags over endless paragraphs claiming this manufactured crisis was a myth, insisting that Russia is "reliably delivering" and isn't using energy as a strategic weapon.

At the exact same time, they were celebrating how effectively Russia had "played" Europe. It’s classic Putinist doublethink.

Some people are still stuck in that mindset today.

Jerry Clark72 said:Fertilizer prices are up because the Russians started choking off the gas supply back in the fall, and you need gas to make fertilizer.

Now that fertilizer prices have spiked, grain prices follow suit, and eventually, we're going to see meat and dairy prices skyrocket too.

I see this as a massive hit to the average person's wallet. Especially here in the States, where food takes up such a huge chunk of the monthly budget.

So, you're essentially admitting that this situation stems more from Russian market manipulation and their manufactured energy crisis than from the actual impact of sanctions.

Nathan Evans78 said:They completely moved the goalposts, didn't they? One minute it’s all "they’ll be bankrupt by tomorrow"—after paying out their coupons with crisp Benjamin Franklins—and now we’ve pivoted to "they’ll definitely be hungry by 2025."

Some good news for us sovereignty enthusiasts: those gas oligarchies from Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the rest can go jump in a lake.

Gas has started flowing from a new ExxonMobil well on the Ika b platform in the Northern Adriatic, near the coast, according to HRT. Another well on the Marica platform is set to go live in early April, with a third planned in a few years once the new Irena 2. platform is built. This is actually great news, considering gas production in the Northern Adriatic has been on the decline for years.

Over in El Paso-Srijem County, the Canadian firm Vermilion has struck two gas fields—Cerić and Berak—so they'll be contributing fresh supplies next year too. On top of that, ExxonMobil has made the Severovac discovery following the latest round of exploration block allocations, according to Marijan Krpan, the head of the Hydrocarbon Agency.

So, why aren't we talking about Russia or Venezuela?

I have zero respect for this version of "sovereignty" that basically boils down to trembling in fear before the most wide-open imperialist power on the planet. You really ought to read up on this.

Carl Sanders5 said:Great old Lavrov and his cargo ships.
Unless he's straight-up lying, which doesn't even make sense—what would he even gain from lying about this? 🤷
Btw, it's pretty hilarious how he starts the video by throwing international treaties in our faces. 🤣

Given that the Ukrainian ports are currently mined, blockaded, or under occupation, one has to wonder about the logistics of how these cargo vessels actually reach their destination.

Taking Lavrov at face value is...

What on earth kind of cargo ships are we even talking about here?

None of that actually works the way you think it does.

Ronald Chavez2 said:And that isn't even the worst part. If we’re being honest, their biggest crime is simply not being pro-American or acting as reliable customers for U.S. military hardware, much like Saudi Arabia—an outfit whose blatant primitivism somehow never triggers concern from the same people who are constantly losing sleep over Ukraine, Georgia, Uyghurs, Tibet, or Taiwan. Not to mention the way they conveniently ignore what happens in Yemen.

I'm not quite sure which group you're referring to, but I can tell you for certain that I am not one of them.

When it comes to Yemen, we're looking at a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia where both sides act with total disregard for civilian life. I don't see any silver lining in that conflict; all I see are innocent people trapped in the crossfire. As for selling weapons to the Saudis and the Emiracan regimes—which is something everyone does, including Russia and the Chinese—it strikes me as a cynical calculation based on the idea that they are somehow "better than the alternatives." Usually, those kinds of calculations end up costing the person making them, though rarely before they've already cost an entire population their lives.

brightheron64 said:So, was he actually taken down by the CIA?...

Yes, let’s get back to the heart of the matter...

Just one more tragic chapter added to the endless collection of 357,426 sorrowful stories etched into the history of civilization... And yes, I realize that if I were to say my observation out loud in the daylight, I might sound absolutely terrible...
You know, it’s like that old fable where the scorpion tells the frog, "Look, I just have to do it, it's in my nature"... and honestly, there's something about the impulse to just lash out at anyone in our nature, too. But I don't quite recall you being the type to rail against every single human tragedy; if anything, it feels more like you're just pivoting to whataboutism whenever things get heavy, especially when those comments seem to be coming from... well, let's just say a certain neutral corner of Europe like Switzerland...

That silly little guy is just one of many... n He’s certainly a figure of history, but unfortunately, he’s also a figure that serves as a mirror to exactly what we are... It isn't just that Putin is a tragedy for humanity... the truth is that humanity itself is a tragedy... even though it simultaneously produces countless wonderful people, brilliant individuals, and truly transcendent minds...

Take him down? Not exactly, though the CIA-backed Tudeh Party was certainly active, attempting to assassinate the Shah four years prior and staging their own coup attempts both within the officer corps and on the streets just before these events unfolded. In a constitutional monarchy, power isn't concentrated solely in the Prime Minister, and it’s a stretch to paint Mossadegh as some pristine democrat who would have found political violence distasteful. But I suppose that nuance escapes you.

Anyway, getting back to the point...

Just one more tragic chapter among the millions in human history. Granted, my observation might sound rather callous in the light of day.
But much like a scorpion tells a toad, "it's just my nature," the impulse to destroy is woven into the human fabric. I don't recall you ever truly mourning every single human tragedy; if anything, you tend to deflect by bringing up other grievances—classic whataboutism—especially when those arguments originate from... well, let's say, somewhere like Switzerland?

That foolish Putko is merely one n figure in the grand timeline, yet he serves as a mirror for our collective reality. Putin isn't a unique tragedy of mankind; humanity itself is a tragedy, regardless of the countless brilliant minds and wonderful individuals who strive against it.

Since I can't rewrite history (unless we lean into the revisionism you seem to find so appealing), I will focus on what I actually *can* control to mitigate this current tragedy. That means providing financial aid where I can, fighting the disinformation spread by fascist regimes and their useful idiots, and backing the politicians and corporations making morally sound, civilized decisions.

Bringing up old tragedies is nothing but whataboutism when it's used cynically to justify ongoing ones, which is precisely what you're doing here.

brightheron64 said:No, nothing has anything to do with Ukraine—it's the same kind of confusion we see all over the world. 🙄

Did it ever even cross your mind that Putin might have reached a simple conclusion: "If George Walker could pull it off, why shouldn't I?"?

Of course, it’s a foregone conclusion that his logic was more along the lines of: "If Hitler could do it, why shouldn't I?"

And you seem to be fully on board with that, given how certain historical precedents are treated as sacred scripture—especially by those who enjoy playing the progressive while essentially kissing the boots of fascists.

brightheron64 said:Well, how?

It happens when a supposedly parliamentary monarchy turns into an untouchable autocracy, especially when they're more than willing to turn on the oil taps without asking too many questions...

Are you suggesting something akin to how the Soviet Union pressured their way into 50% concessions for Northern Iranian oil fields just a year prior—the very thing Mossadegh stood against?

Or perhaps more like how Russia seized Crimea and its exclusive economic zone, along with the Donbas, both of which hold massive gas reserves? Anyway, let's get back to the main point.

brightheron64 said:That was just a passing comment regarding the nefarious Iran, which is currently under sanctions. The way you're clinging to that mention is like flies swarming over... well, you know... that's a whole different conversation

And what does any of this have to do with the current situation... I mean, come on...😒
From learning about how bones get sharpened and clubs used for blunt force... all the way to Ivy Mike, everything is interconnected with what's happening in Ukraine.

Nothing here is irrelevant.

But hey, since you're such an incredibly well-versed and enlightened guru (🤣)...
https://www.dw.com/sr/sad-i-iran-od-...nas/a-51885550

Maybe the problem is just that because she wrote it, it must all be garbage, lies, and complete fabrications?

What does any of this actually have to do with the topic you're discussing?

Well, since you're such a well-informed and enlightened guru (🤣)...
https://www.dw.com/sr/sad-i-iran-od-...nas/a-51885550

Maybe the problem is just that she wrote it in "three phases," so naturally, it's all garbage and lies?

You’re charging ahead like a Russian soldier toward a goal you’ve imagined is waiting with open arms and waving flags, while leaving your flanks completely exposed; that’s what ideological blindness looks like.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_crisis_of_1946

Who knows, maybe you'll find a "three-phase" source for this one too. There's plenty in the Soviet archives regarding relations with Iran. But clearly, you aren't interested in that, nor in the fact that Iran has historically—and currently—been wary of claims from its hungry northern neighbor.

It's honestly funny that you think you need to "enlighten" me regarding American intervention in Iran, or that I'm somehow endorsing it.

And none of this has anything to do with Ukraine.